Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer known worldwide for his elegant menswear. Its popularity is particularly high in the United States, where the Armani brand is synonymous with style and sophistication.
Childhood and youth
Giorgio Armani was born into the large family of Maria Raimondi and Hugo Armani in the Italian city of Piacenza. His father was a shipping manager, and his mother was a housekeeper and raising children. He showed an interest in human anatomy from an early age and this prompted him to choose the profession of a doctor. After leaving school, he decided to continue his education at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Milan, but dropped out in his third year and joined the army in 1953.
Career
After leaving the army, he initially worked as a furniture salesman in Milan. After some time, he got a job in a men's clothing store, where he learned all about design, fashion and marketing for seven years.
In the mid 1960s, he joined Nino Cerutti as a menswear designer.
In the late 1960s, he met the architect Sergio Galeotti, with whom he very quickly became friends and began to collaborate. It was Galeotti who inspired him to open his office in 1973.
In the early 1970s, Armani collaborated with several of the most famous fashion houses such as Allegri, Hilton, Guibault and others, which contributed to his popularity among buyers. Together with his friend Galeotti, he created Giorgio Armani S. p. A in Milan in 1975. And already in 1976, he presented collections for men and women for the spring and summer of 1976 under his own name.
The main achievement of his life was the founding of his company Giorgio Armani S. p. A in Milan in 1975. Forty years after its foundation, the company still sells not only clothes, but also perfumes, watches and accessories, and also manages a chain of hotels, restaurants and cafes around the world.
After the huge success in his home country enjoyed by his Italian company, he opened a US subsidiary, the Giorgio Armani Corporation in New York in 1979. The company manufactures and markets clothing for men, women and children, and licenses its name to perfume and accessory manufacturers.
In the 1980s, the company introduced Armani Junior, Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani lines. The Emporio line was sold at a more affordable price and was aimed at the middle class.
In the same years, Armani began his successful cooperation with the dream factory, creating costumes for films.
Awards
The Neumann Marcus Prize was awarded to him for “Outstanding Achievement in Fashion” in 1979.
He received the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fashion Designers' Club of America (CFDA) in 1987.
Personal life
Armani is a lifelong bachelor who has been so busy with his career that he didn't have time for women. He gives all his love to relatives and their children. His sister, nieces and nephews work for his company.
He is a vegetarian and does not smoke.
He says that if he could go back in time, he would never have chosen the profession of a fashion designer.
He is deeply interested in sports and is the President of the Olimpia Milan basketball team.
